Kyiv —
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told CNN in an interview that Ukraine has only one-tenth of the interceptors it urgently needs from the United States to stop a surge in Russian ballistic missile attacks, adding that his days are spent making “millions” of phone calls and making opaque deals with allies seeking more.
Russian ballistic attacks have increased rapidly in recent weeks, hitting the capital Kiev particularly hard as Russia takes advantage of Ukraine’s near-zero inventory of Patriot interceptor missiles. President Zelenskiy said a tenth of the US’s current stockpile would be enough to thwart all Russian ballistic missile attacks, but 5% would be enough to get Ukraine through the winter.
“The number of interceptors this year is 2.5 times lower than in 2025,” he said. “Russia has twice as many ballistic missiles per month as before.” According to the United Nations, July was the deadliest month for Ukrainian civilians since April 2022. “They’re having seizures every night, and they’re having major seizures four or five times a month…terrible nights. These are really heroic, very resilient people. But they’re () tired.”
He added: “If the US sells us 5%, we will get through the winter and save lives. If the US sells us 10%, we will destroy all the Russian ballistic missiles. I have 1%.”
The U.S.-Iranian war has left a global shortage of missiles, with the U.S. and Gulf states using dozens of them to counter Iranian missiles and low-cost drone attacks. The shortage has been most severely affected in Ukraine, where some cities appear vulnerable on some nights to Moscow’s rocket attacks.
Mr. Zelenskiy gave a rare opportunity to talk about his daily personal efforts to secure more interceptors, including closing deals he wanted to keep private. “This is what I live every day. 1% to 5%. There are months and millions of calls… trying to exchange something for a missile… There are things I can’t even share. It doesn’t mean it’s outside the law. But I can’t talk about it.”
Zelenskiy said there were still questions about how President Donald Trump’s apparent promise to allow Ukraine to build its own Patriot missile interceptor would materialize.
On the sidelines of a NATO summit in Ankara, President Trump said he would allow Ukraine to obtain a license to build its own complex interceptor missiles, but days later said he had no confidence in the idea. The manufacturer of the Patriot missile system sent officials to Kiev to discuss the idea, but results remain elusive.
“I hope we get that,” Zelenskiy said. “I don’t have 5% right now and I can’t accept that. And this is a big challenge for me, one of the biggest challenges I’ve had since the beginning of this war.”
Zelenskiy said he is pleading with the White House to step up support for patriots, both in person, by phone, in messages and indirectly through allies. But he was otherwise reluctant to provide details about his recent interactions with the Trump administration.
He acknowledged a recent phone conversation with Vice President J.D. Vance, but did not elaborate on whether Vance had asked Ukraine to halt attacks on Russian oil ports in the Black Sea, which are hurting U.S. businesses and risking a spike in global energy prices, as reported by the Financial Times.
Kiev also presented new proposals for the Trump-led peace process, which has stalled in recent months. President Zelenskiy did not provide details, but said: “We need more involvement on the part of the United States in the peace plan. I am grateful to President Trump’s team for their desire to continue. (Russian President Vladimir) Putin has no intention of stopping this war now, and there is not enough pressure on him right now.”
He also rejected the idea that Ukraine would concede the remaining territory in Donbass, which Putin is seeking to conquer, and said security remained key for Kiev.
“Russia started talking about this war, and he started talking about territory. The important question is why doesn’t he come again after a big hiatus with another million or two million soldiers? Why doesn’t he come again to occupy us?”
Zelenskiy added that he agrees with some Western assessments that Putin could escalate the war with NATO and attack NATO’s small Baltic states.
“He doesn’t know how to end this war without a big occupation or a big victory for his society. It’s easier to find a small country… For him, it doesn’t matter whether this country is in NATO or not. He wants a quick victory. He is 100% sure whether to win, to occupy, to destroy or to dominate.”
